Can a registered nurse live comfortably with their salary?

I live in California. I'm not talking mansion with nice cars and buying anything I want. Just some middle class apartment and a car like a mini cooper or something. I'm just wondering. I'm working to get my BSN right now, and I know I shouldn't be thinking too far into the future, but I just want to know that when/if I eventually get a job, will I be able to live comfortably? I'm single, no kids, just me and a friend being room mates. (she's also working towards her BSN). We wouldn't care for vacations or anything like that, just hanging out around the city is all I can think of as relaxing. Nothing big.

Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
My dad bought videos for Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. I will be taking the class shortly because I have realized that even though I am making more $ than I have ever made, I am also spending more than ever. I have student loan debt and a car loan. .

Both of those are excellent! FPU is his Christian-based program that they teach in a lot of churches, and TMM is his secular-based program, and the book can be found at any bookstore.

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Yes.......when if you find a job and live within your means.

Specializes in CTICU.

If there's a higher cost of living (like CA), then there are also higher salaries. Like everyone said, anyone can live on a reasonable wage but you have to choose what "living comfortably" means to you and allocate your funds accordingly. I am a single RN, I own 3 houses in 2 different countries, have an 11 yr old subaru that I bought with cash 5 years ago, and buy whatever I want, within reason. I have never had to live "paycheck to paycheck" and I don't understand people who do. As others said, nursing is actually great in that you can always get a second job, or work nites, or do overtime, so there is a lot of flexibility to increase your income when you need to save up for something.

klone said:
my husband and I are both are rns with three kids and we live comfortably. we take two vacations a year (one with kids, and one somewhere outside the country, just the two of us). we plan to retire before we're sixty. the key is to live within your means, and don't be stupid with your money (don't buy a new car every five years, or hell, don't buy a new car ever, buy one that's 2 years old instead and pay cash for it), don't rack up thousands of dollars in credit card debt, get a 15-year mortgage instead of 30 and pay it off early, and put as much money as you can into retirement, as early as you can.

two books I recommend are "total money makeover" and "the automatic millionaire"

amen. if you live in calif and find that the cost of housing and transportation is too expensive, consider a less expensive state. the bottomline is this: pay off your debts. practice good money management, and don't buy anything without asking yourself if you really need it.

after nursing school, start saving for retirement and put away a year's worth of money as an emergency fund. don't go into debt unless it is absolutely essential--instead, save for what you need to buy. you can live on an RN's salary, but it all depends on your expections. do you need to buy the most trendy car or buy a $600,000+ house in newport beach, laguna, or marina del rey? learn the basics of money management, saving and budgeting before you do anything. remember, once you graduate, you must find a job. here in cali, the job outlook is not good.

What constitutes as "living comfortably" varies greatly from person to person. I think it depends mostly on how you where brought up. I grew up in a very poor neighborhood, so I consider having plenty of food, a working car and not living in a dangerous ghetto as "comfortable". I've noticed friends of mine who grew up in the suburbs or in upper middle class have much higher expectations. They consider big houses, new cars, in-ground pools and a nice vacation every year as necessary for a "comfortable" life. It's almost like some people feel like their lives are inadequate unless they have such things. So, in my opinion, yes a RN (or LPN for that matter) can live very comfortably indeed.

Specializes in Forensic Psych.

My husband's base salary is about the same as a new grad RN in our area. If I can budget our family of five on that salary to live comfortably, I'm 100% sure you can do great as a single person.

I don't know what kind of Mini Coopers other PPs have been looking at, but they are certainly not considered "pricey" cars, and buying used is extremely affordable. I think that should be well within your reach.

The key is, as always, to watch your debt. When my husband and I were younger we had twice as much money and twice as much debt. Sure, we had nicer cars and tons of junk, but we lived paycheck to paycheck thanks to all of it. There's no excuse for that when bringing home 100k+. Also, single new grads sometimes forget that they may not be single for long. That 6 year car note may last you well into marriage and children, unexpected job loss, divorce, etc.

I don't think it's a matter of living within your means as much as living BELOW your means. I could afford a new car, but my 2007 Charger is paid off, runs great, and still fits our family, so why bother? That money saved is paying for childcare so I can attend nursing school so I can have a secondary income that will be all fun and retirement money, instead of student loan repayment money.

Debt can be a lot like C-diff. Pretty easy to contract, hard to eradicate, painful and debilitating while you have it.

Obviously, many young people who get out of school today have piles of debt. (The education establishment should have much to answer for, but that's a topic for another place or time.)

Be as smartly frugal as you can and pay off the debt as fast as you can. Then avoid borrowing except in a dire emergency and put something into savings every paycheck.

Don't leave money on the table. Take full advantage of your employer's 401 K match.

Omg yes you can live well. I grew up lower to lower middle class and I have everything I realistically want right now. A new car, a nice place to live, clothes, handbags, shoes etc. I could go on vacations too. If you won't have much in school loans and you are single with no kids you can live pretty well as an RN. (but i guess people's opinions on that varies)

I didn't have loans, paid off school as I went with scholarships and money from jobs. I like nicer cars, I prefer to and do lease and still have plenty to save. I do a ton of overtime if I get up the motivation. For a young person without loans or kids $40,000-50,000 is a great salary.

Specializes in Oncology.

I am middle class. I can't afford expensive vacations but we do have a new car (not a fancy car, just a car, nothing to write home about.) We live in a decent neighborhood. We have food to eat. We can buy ourselves things once in a while if we want. We are not rich. We aren't living a luxury life. We get by. I am an RN and my SO makes a decent living in another job. We will never be wealthy. Not even a little bit. We aren't poor though.

There was a pretty large thread like this recently. And it all comes down to what you mean by living comfortably/luxurious etc. For me having enough to pay my bills, drive a car that works, not live in a ghetto/high crime area, buy any kind of food I want, buy nice clothes( nOT $1,000 shirts and $4,500 shoes) is living a life a lot more luxurious than most people I know in real life .

Who said it had to be a new Mini Cooper? Hello, there is a thing called "buying used"! Besides, Mini Coopers aren't any more expensive than a nicely equipped Toyota Camry. You don't see people in a huff over a nice Camry; they just accept it.

Other than that, I cosign with everything else that the others have posted above.

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